Onboarding Employees

Onboarding Employees is a routine task that is rarely done well.  Some organizations have HR groups or other infrastructure to help Onboarding Employees, but individual managers should not allow a lack of such infrastructure stop them from doing so.  Below we talk about:

• Why All Managers Should Pay Attention to Onboarding Employees
• The Three Components of Onboarding Employees:
  • Orientation
  • Adaptation
  • Acceleration
• The Minimum Requirements for Onboarding Employees

Why All Managers Should Pay Attention to Onboarding Employees

• Employees are at most risk of leaving in their first 12 months on the job.  How they are integrated into your business is critical to ensuring their success.
• Encourages better morale, productivity, attendance, and safety.
• It helps reduce the chances of mistakes or bad habits being developed.

The Three Components of Onboarding Employees

Orientation

Orientation is the first component of Onboarding Employees.  As the name implies, this is the stage where we help them become familiar and comfortable with their new surroundings:

• Review of policies and other new job administration.
• Introduction to others with whom the new employee will be working.
• Job specific training.
• Telephones, computers, tools, and supplies ready to go in advance, so the new employee can begin work right away.

Adaptation

The second component of Onboarding Employees is Adaptation.  In this phase, we integrate the newcomer into the culture of the organization.

• How do you describe your culture?
• How is that culture “lived”?
• What stories can you tell about how you live that culture?
• Is there an employee association or social club?
• Do you have articulated and communicated the mission, vision and values of the organization?
• Exposure to other business areas that may be on the periphery of the new employee’s view (central services, suppliers, customers, other internal departments, etc.)

Acceleration

In this phase, an organization can really benefit from a well thought-out process for Onboarding Employees.  This is how we get new people to “hit the ground running”, and accelerate their journey to full productivity.

• Provide written goals, objectives and standards, and ensure they are understood by the new hire.
• Start regular one on one meetings between the new employee and his/her immediate supervisor.  These meetings may need to be more frequent at the beginning of an employment relationship.
• Identify development areas, and begin immediately to address those gaps.

The Minimum Requirements for Onboarding Employees

It may be difficult to implement a comprehensive process for Onboarding Employees all at once.  As a minimum, the following elements need to be covered:

• Introduction to policy, benefits, and basic procedures (the HR things)
• Introduction to site specific Health, Safety, Environment & Security guidelines.
• Introduction to job specific procedures, expectations (covered by the immediate supervisor)
• Introduction to people s/he will be working with (as a courtesy)
• All required equipment – phones, computers, security cards, tools, etc. to allow the new hire to get to work on the very first day.

3 Things to Remember About Onboarding Employees

1. You need to have a process and dedicate 100% of your attention to it when someone new is starting.
2. The personal touch goes a long way – as the supervisor of a new hire, try to make yourself as available as possible during those first few days.
3. Onboarding lasts more than a day.  Some organizations take weeks and months to onboard someone new.

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about Onboarding Employees (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):

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